


Come Across a Cephalon

by ivarara



Series: Maxis [12]
Category: Warframe
Genre: cas intro!!!! yeah boy!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-23
Updated: 2019-01-23
Packaged: 2019-10-14 22:40:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17517155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivarara/pseuds/ivarara
Summary: Max and the gang are sent to salvage an Infested ship. They find someone unexpected on board.





	Come Across a Cephalon

The ship is desolate, empty and unnervingly silent. All the crewmen that had been aboard had either left or died aboard the ship, their bodies lay scattered about the interior, starting to be taken over by the Infestation. The rest of the ship shows signs of similar contamination, the thick, crawling tendrils of the Infested tissue creeping across walls and floors alike.

They’re aboard to scavenge for supplies and to investigate the events that took place. The squad moves carefully, painfully aware that at any moment they could be ambushed by hordes of Infested, or even a few straggling crewmen banded together and somehow still alive. Max tags along towards the back of the group, Trouvaille and Ivara close behind.

“Sir, we’ve found something,” one of the troopers reports back.

Zus looks up at them and walks over to investigate what had been found. It’s a computer terminal, so far untouched by the Infestation, pristine and still functioning. There, a cephalon is found, their polygonal form illuminating the small area. Though still functioning, they show hostility towards any of the soldiers that attempt to interact.

“Who are you?” Zus asks strongly.

“I should be asking you that,” they answer testily. They don’t seem to be in any mood to cooperate.

“Do you know what happened here?” Zus ignores the tone of their voice to prod further.

“Why should I tell you? You’re Grineer,” the cephalon continues.

By then, Max and her cohorts had wandered in quietly, observing from behind the others.

The cephalon notices them after a pause. “Tenno!” They exclaim almost excitedly.

“You’re willing to talk to her?” One of the troopers asks incredulously.

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” they respond tensely. “Wait. Why aren’t you doing anything about them?” They address Max.

“Oh, uh,” Max is caught in the center of attention. “That’d be because I’m with them. We’re allies.”

“Excuse me?” The cephalon seems absolutely stunned. “So you’ve defected?”

“I mean, not necessarily,” Max answers warily.

“You’ve left your cause and joined the enemy. That’s defection,” they reply with snark. “Though   
I’d rather be stuck with a Tenno than filthy Grineer dogs.”

“So you’re willing to join her?” Zus interjects.

“Like I said, I’d rather be with a Tenno. It’s not like I have much left to do here besides wait for the Infestation to take over.” They pause. “I’m doing it because of her, not because I want to   
help you.”

“So you’ve said,” Zus mutters. “The rest of you, continue searching for supplies. Max, you take care of the cephalon.” He turns and leaves with the other troops.

“Take care of me,” they grumble. “For the record, that’s not what you’re doing.”

“I understand,” Max answers.

“Hm,” the cephalon seems to be thinking. “There should be a data mass around here that I can transfer into to move.”

“Nearby?”

“In this room, I believe.” They’re noticeably calmer now that it’s just the four of them.

“Then I’ll get lookin’,” Max turns away and begins to scour the computer room for the data mass. Trouvaille takes to sitting and wrapping his tail around his paws, following Max’s movements closely. Ivara, after a pause, joins Max in looking.

“I see you’ve a little cohort with you,” the cephalon mentions after a short period, attempting to ease any tension that remained in the room.

“Yeah, I guess,” Max pauses in her searching to turn and reply. “My Warframe, Ivara,” Max nods to her, “and my kubrow, Trouvaille.” The kubrow’s ears perk up at the sound of his name being mentioned.

“Interesting. I’ve never been up close to either of them before,” they’re curious now, their projection tilting to and fro as if looking them over.

A short silence follows as Max and Ivara continue their looking, and the cephalon continues observing. Eventually, Ivara finds the mass, and excitedly holds it up for Max to see.

“Nice!” She exclaims before plugging it into the terminal. The cephalon begins the process of transferring into the mass as they wait.

“Wait,” Max interrupts. “Do you have, y’know, a name?”  
“They called me Cephalon Cas, if that’s your question,” Cas answers lightly. “By the way, I’m finished.”

“Oh, neat,” Max responds cheerfully. “Welcome to our little squad, Cephalon Cas!”


End file.
